Player Ratings: New England Revolution at D.C. United

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the New England Revolution players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Sean Donahue and Ryan Lanigan contributed ratings for the New England Revolution’s 2-1 loss to D.C. United.

Matt Reis – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6.5, Sean 6)
Made a number of heady saves which bailed out the defense. Still don’t know what was up with that free kick, but Reis’ heroics kept it close. (Brian) … Some tough saves to make up for some defensive miscues and keep the game from getting out of reach. Perhaps could’ve gotten to the second goal, though he likely didn’t see it till it was too late. (Sean)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6.5, Sean 6)
Played a really sharp game; cordoned off D.C.’s the right flank, made a couple of good runs forward and wasn’t afraid to mix it up. A performance to build on. (Brian) … Mostly good stuff defensively, though he failed to track Maicon Santos on the chance on which Santos beat Barnes and forced Reis into a great save. Surprisingly crosses from the left flank looked better than his past efforts from the right. (Sean)

Darrius Barnes – Average Rating: 4.25 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4)
After a pair of strong performances, Barnes punched in a very unimpressive performance. Afraid to challenge on Pontius goal and nearly let Santos score had Reis not been there to make the save. (Brian) … Not a great night for Barnes, who earned the start after two solid showings. Too slow to close out on strikers at times and made to look foolish by Santos just past the hour mark. (Sean)

Stephen McCarthy – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6)
Is there any doubt who’s become the most consistent defender? Strong in the air, smart tackles, and is playing with confidence. (Brian) … Hard to place any of the blame on McCarthy for the Revolution’s defensive collapses. Another sold showing. (Sean)

Flo Lechner – Average Rating: 4.25 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4)
Crosses in the final third were lacking, as were the throw-ins. Defensively, he did reasonably well aside from getting turned by Pontius on the build-up to the game-winner. (Brian) … Found a teammate on none of his crosses and just one of his seven throw-ins. A bright start and a couple of decent defensive plays, but when it mattered most? Lechner seemed to go down easily looking for a foul leaving the Revolution shorthanded in the back on the first goal and then missed with a risky slide tackle in the build up to the second goal. (Sean)

Lee Nguyen – Average Rating: 5 (Brian 4.5, Sean 5.5)
Seemed all too keen to play for the foul; muscled off the ball too often and looked slow on certain passes. Sparked a couple of chances late, but the entire body of work wasn’t his best. (Brian) … Active with lots of touches and came close to scoring shortly after D.C.’s equalizer. (Sean)

Ryan Guy – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brain 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Pesky presence all night; ideas were there, and per usual, never afraid to battle for the ball; in other words, it was another workmanlike performance for the central midfielder. (Brian) … Put some decent service into the box and did a decent job on both ends of the ball. (Sean)

Clyde Simms – Average Rating: 4.75 (Brian 4.5, Sean 5)
With D.C. pressing for the go-ahead, the center half failed do much to stand in their way. Dropped back when needed, but the Revs needed him more in the middle of the park. (Brian) … Good help on defense, covering for defenders when they were pulled out of position, but needed to do more to clog the passing lanes. (Sean)

Kelyn Rowe – Average Rating: 5.5 (Brian 5.5, Sean 5.5)
Poor finish early gives way to paydirt near the half hour; early form sharpened the attack but seemed to fade in and out in the second half. Nearly scored a second in the 85th minute. (Brian) … Mixed night. Good goal and some decent crosses, but also some poor finishing. Failure to control a long throw from Reis started the play leading to D.C.’s game winner. (Sean)

Diego Fagundez – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Made some good runs inside the area, kept the ball at his feet, and played a major part of the Revs’ early forays into D.C.’s defensive third. (Brian) … Excellent run and decision making to set up Rowe’s goal. Showed some creativity and skill in the attack, but seemed to fade a bit before getting subbed out. (Sean)

Jerry Bengtson – Average Rating: 4 (Brian 4, Sean 4)
Little more than a rumor on the attack; failed to muster a single shot on goal and, for the most part, became a little more than a bystander when the attack was clicking. (Brian) … Good flick-on header in the build-up to Rowe’s goal, but otherwise didn’t see much of the ball as the Revolution got into dangerous spots. Still hasn’t had much time to train with the team, so perhaps chemistry is still lacking with teammates. (Sean)

(sub) Dimitry Imbongo – Average Rating: 3.75 (Brian 4, Sean 3.5)
Brought about as much as Bengtson did to the game; decent hold up play, but a couple of awkward sequences made it look like a 2-year-old was playing him in FIFA. (Brian) … Looked raw and at 22-years-old, that’s not a good thing. One good run, but otherwise decision-making and execution weren’t good enough. Whiffed on a golden opportunity off a Ryan Guy cross. (Sean)

(sub) Benny Feilhaber – Average Rating: 6 (Brian 6, Sean 6):
Brought some much-needed life to an attack that had dulled by the time he stepped on to the pitch; ambitious, yet smart, and nearly found the equalizer on two occasions. (Brian) … Great stuff off the bench and unlucky not to find the equalizer. Did exactly what he needed to do to earn more playing time. (Sean)

(sub) Juan Toja – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6.5, Sean 6)
It may be premature, but he may bring exactly what the club has lacked since Shalrie was traded: a midfield presence. Calm and cool on the ball, he became a key cog in the attack late. (Brian) … Clear the fitness wasn’t fully there, but Toja brought some great ideas, passing and creativity off the bench. (Sean)

About Sean Donahue

Sean Donahue serves as an editor and staff writer at New England Soccer Today. He has been covering the New England Revolution since 2002 for various publications. He has covered four MLS Cups, in addition to covering various international matches, including World Cup Qualifying and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He has done freelance work for the Associated Press and ESPN Boston.
In 2014, Sean co-hosted New England Soccer Weekly on AM 1510 WMEX in Quincy. He hosted Revolution Recap, a weekly radio program covering the New England Revolution and U.S. Men's National Team from 2005-2008. He is a member of the North American Soccer Reporters. Sean can be reached at nesoccertoday@gmail.com or on Twitter @SeanLDonahue